Hottest baby name trends of 2010

by
Evonne Lack

Hollywood starlets

Who can forget the glamorous gowns, porcelain skin, signature red lips, and peekaboo hair waves of old Hollywood? The golden age of film (roughly 1930 to 1959) is alive and well in the American consciousness, and now we're bringing the glamour closer to home.

Scarlett, Evelyn, Vivien, and Greta all climbed in popularity this year. You may be surprised to learn that although these actresses were well-known, most of their names were not among the most popular during Hollywood's heyday.

In fact, except for Evelyn, the names of these sirens of the silver screen never cracked the top 100. The underuse only contributes to their allure, making them that much more attractive to us now.

Disney magic

Tiana hit the big screen in The Princess and the Frog in late 2009. Is it a coincidence that her name jumped over 400 spots the next year, to land at number 378? We think not.

Tiana isn't the only Disney princess doing well. The names Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) also became more popular this year. As for real life teen princess Demi Lovato, she may eventually do for her name what Miley did for hers. The name Demi jumped 16 percent this year.

Honoring Olympians

The Winter Olympics may feel like a distant memory now, but the pregnant women watching last February were obviously inspired. Bode (as in ski racer Miller) shot up from 1,320 to 547 this year (a 59 percent jump), while Shaun (as in the Flying Tomato snowboarder) caught some air and moved up almost 200 places to 357.

Location, location, location

Maybe it's wanderlust or maybe it's just that ever-present search for quirky-cool baby names, but Brooklyn and Charlotte went up big time this year, arriving at 30 and 38 respectively.

Other location names that gained popularity include London, Alexandria, Bristol, and Paris. What locales loom on the 2011 naming horizon? Egypt may just take flight. It has star power, courtesy of Alicia Keys' newest addition.

Hot sounds

Aiden and Jacob, Ava and Kaitlyn….there's no doubt about it, we like our long a's. Twenty percent of the top 20 girls' names feature this sound, as do 35 percent of the top 20 boys' names.

Finally, one-syllable names for boys seem to be on the way out. All but one of our top 20 boys' names have two or more syllables, while Jack – the lone exception – has dropped out of the top ten for the first time since 2005.

In with the Old (Testament)

Parents of boys are reaching back for names – way, way back. While Jacob has made our top-ten list for the past ten years, and Noah for the past five, other Old Testament names are now rising in the charts. These include Levi, Caleb, Elijah, and Jeremiah.

Are we turning to our spiritual roots for solace in these tough social and economic times? Maybe. Or maybe it's just that these names happen to be exactly what we're looking for – they're simultaneously unusual and pleasing. In other words, they're not overused, but they're not overly wacky either.

Spell it your way

How can a name like Aiden – our top boys' name for six years running – possibly be distinct? This is where creative spelling comes in.

Changing a few letters can give a familiar name that individual twist that parents crave. In fact, Aiden has a whopping 46 different spelling variations, including Aidan, Ayden, and Aadan. Once he hits preschool, little Aedin's cubby can be distinguished from Aydan's – an important consideration!

Goodbye, old guard

Given our desire for distinction, it's no surprise that once-evergreen names are becoming less favored. Mary, the most popular girls' name for generation upon generation, dropped 12 slots down to 118 this year. Other classic girls' names losing steam include Sarah, Kate and Alexandra.

Though boys' classics are faring slightly better – stalwarts William, John, and James are all in the top 50 – both William and John sit at their lowest ranks this decade (30 and 49, respectively). And James rests at 31 – a far cry from his multi-decade reign as one of the top five boys' names. Christopher, David, Matthew, Michael, and Nicholas are also among the classic names creeping downward.

Cheerio, Harry Potter

It's been nearly ten years since the bespectacled boy with the lightning scar on his forehead first hit the big screen, so it's only logical that many of the leading characters' names from the HarryPotter series (with the exception of Lily) are slowly trending down.

But who knows? With the release of the final film installment next year, perhaps we'll see an upswing as parents pay final homage to the beloved boy wizard and his buddies. We're guessing that both Voldemort and Severus will stay on the outs, however.

The crystal ball: 2011 predictions

We pored over our baby names data from the past six years to come up with a list of rising stars – the names that we predict will become even more popular in 2011.

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